a/n- wassup? it be tobn here in the new year!

yes, new year, new me, new author's note! i've decided that i like to type in all lowercase? i think it is very casual and what not, and it makes it feel a little less formal. yeah? yeah.

but yes yes, it is here, and it is better than ever — the new addition of the friends series: friends forever XD don't you like the title? isn't it cheesy? i hate it, but whatever, too late to change it now :P also i drew the cover. it's not as bad as the last one, i swear :P

glad that you could make it, and hopefully you brought some snacks because i am kind of hungry :P so happy that you came back to read more of this wonderful story! this is the newest and possibly the last addition of the friends series! is that exciting? i think it's just a bit sad for me :P of course, that doesn't mean i can't surprise you a bit before it ends (hint hint, the diamond project, hint hint ;D).

anyway, i won't keep you any longer, especially because you have been waiting for this for so long :P without further ado, here's a boring origin story!1! (don't worry, it's a bit exciting, lol).

disclaimer: i still don't own mbav or its characters. just sky bryans, mark peterson, talia baxter, other oc's, and the plot-o. cool beans? the coolest :)

ENJOY!

Friends Forever: Chapter 1: Origin of a Shadow

"I wasn't who you thought I was."

Sky stood there, dumbfounded; she knew it was him, didn't she? Wasn't there a big part of her that knew already? Why did she all of the sudden feel so...guilty?

"I'm assuming you want answers, no?"

Why couldn't she speak? Sky knew she had a thousand words she could say at the moment — most of them being slurs of violence and curses — but she couldn't find any. Was she shocked? She shouldn't be; she had a nagging feeling this was the answer they were looking for. Why was she so surprised she was right?

"You look surprised, Skylar," he said as if reading her mind. "You must've had some sort of knowledge of this happening. After all, you are always right."

Sky snuck a glance at Benny; his eyes were wide, and he had somehow managed to get on his knees, cradling his dead grandmother's head in his arms. She winced; this wasn't going to help anything.

"You know I like drama, so shall I twist this story into view?"

Ethan looked absolutely enraged; Sky knew that he was as guilty as her. He should've listened to Sarah; it's the mantra that probably rung in his head.

No one was as guilty as she was.

"...oh come on! Nobody wants story time? Everyone loves my stories."

Rory's fingers were clenched into a tight fist, and he was actually shaking. Erica seemed to notice this as well; she held his closed fist and squeezed it, allowing a second of eye contact to occur, before Rory pulled away slightly. Sky sighed.

It was her fault.

"You guys are being silly. Are you telling me that, after all this time, you don't want to know the story behind the mask?"

She should've just ignored him at the window.

She should've just not kissed him all those years ago before she left him for good.

She should've just ignored his offers for help when he found her crying under a tree in her favourite playground even before that kiss.

She should've done something.

"Well I'm going to start without your consent. Might as well get it over with before you guys find out yourself. If anyone should tell you the story, it must be me."

"Then talk." Sky's mouth seemed to move on its own.

She was met with a toothy grin, and she felt disgusting, a darkness in her mind she usually pushed away creeping back in and plaguing her thoughts.

She was falling. Again.

She didn't even realize she was crying when she saw Erica look at her with tears. Sarah and Ethan held each other close, but Sky's eyes were locked on Benny, who was still on his knees beside his dead grandma.

Dead. It was such a blunt word for something so tragic.

"I knew you'd come around," Mark Peterson said, black wings from before disappearing in a cascade of ashes. He waved his hand in the air slowly, and a thick mists surrounded them.

"Let me paint a picture for you, shall I? After all, every fairytale starts with a 'once upon a time'..."

"The story starts with with a mortal who went by the name of Hunter Peterson. He was young and handsome; a hit amongst most ladies. However, the only reason he was such a lady's man was his looks; his personality was something people had to tolerate to get even remotely close to him. He was stubborn, hard-headed, and always wanted to do things his way. Needless to say, he wasn't the kindest person"

A man with curly hair and chocolate brown eyes walked along the street with an almost radiant glow around him, drawing the attention of people — primarily women — along the road he practically owned. But there was some sort of darkness inside him, floating on the inside of his chest and in his mind.

"So, naturally, it was a surprise to some when one day, he announced he had married a lovely, orange-haired maiden; Talia Baxter.

Ethan's eyes widened. "N-No…"

"Gross!" Rory said at the same time.

Mark smiled. "Yes. Talia Baxter was my mother."

Silence. Mark continued on.

"They married under the moonlight on the summit of a mountain — something that seemed quite extraordinary and impressive, but was no big deal to them, as Talia was actually a extremely powerful spellmaster; so powerful that if she were to die, she could resurrect herself — and anyone she wanted — out of the Oblivion itself."

"The Oblivion Spellmaster…," Sarah trailed off. Sky look disgusted at Mark's sick grin.

"Hunter, of course, had known this, and loved her even more; or so she thought."

They kiss, his hands wrapped around her lace-bound waist. Her eyes closed as she cupped his cheek, but his eyes were wide open with an even wider smile.

"Inevitably, a year after their wedding, they conceived a wonderful child, who was special and awesome in every single way. Who am I talking about? Well, me of course! Yes, friends; this was the birth of Mark Peterson. And boy was it a game-changer."

Cradling a baby boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, Talia smiled.

"His eyes. They aren't yours or mine; they belong to the powers within me," she whispers in his ear, looking at her baby in awe. Hunter rose an eyebrow.

"He must be really powerful," he said, choosing every word carefully, but still smiling through the whole sentence; especially when he got a nod out of it.

"Wait, you mean—" Benny stood up on his feet, blood on his hands, and took a step back to stand beside his girlfriend. Mark nodded, a smirk on his face.

"You're right; our dad was more evil than I would ever be."

Benny said nothing, but the horrified expression on his face said it all.

"YOU'RE EVIL!" she screamed, her hair fading from orange to black from the blast that Hunter shot at her, moving to get closer to Mark, whose eyes were wide open, as if he knew what was happening. "I loved you, Hunter! I can't believe you would just use me like this! Mark and I...we're going somewhere you can NEVER HURT US AGAIN!"

When she blinked, he was gone. She stiffened, grabbing the basket in her hands and barely lifted it up when she felt.

With a shriek, Talia dissolved into ashes, and the basket with Mark fell softly on the ground. Hunter watched as a string of blue magic lifted from the pile of ashes and into his heart. He grinned; it was done.

"So Hunter killed Talia for her powers," Sarah said. "Unbelievable."

Mark nodded. "Wasn't the best choice, but it was done. He would pay for it later in the story, but I never would. He fled, and we never saw her again; or so we thought."

The man stood above his ex-wife's ashes. He smiled sullenly.

"My dear girl...to me, your death was to come anyway."

He walked away with his child, and he didn't know that a soul appeared out of the ashes.

And it drifted away in the wind, darkness in its center.

Erica looked at Mark. "So you're telling me that even without her powers, Talia was still able to escape death? I don't believe you."

Mark let a "tsk" escape from his teeth, looking at the blood drying on his hands.

"Don't assume things, Jones," Mark said. "She managed to keep half her powers, which was enough to let her soul escape the Oblivion. Unfortunately, her body was quite useless, as it was all turned to ashes, so she just had to find her own."

Erica rolled her eyes. Sky kept herself from wanting to lunge at Mark and kill him, but she needed answers.

She snuck another glance at Benny, and realized he was doing the same; he was trembling in fury, tears running down his cheeks. Mark seemed unfazed.

"What happened to you and your dad?" Ethan asked. Mark shrugged, as if he was bored.

"We left. Not much to it, other than the fact that my dad made sure we both put what happened behind us. We started a new life in a little place we now call Whitechapel."

Benny sucked in a breath, but said nothing. Sky finally found her voice.

"What the hell were you doing in Whitechapel?" She let the third word slip out, and Mark smiled; he was getting to her.

"I was there, seven years later, for when my dad married a young, kind-hearted spellmaster named Lily Adams."

Benny was red. His eyes held an indescribable pain, but every part of his body just felt like he was on fire. He glared at Mark and lunged towards him. Mark laughed as Sky and Ethan desperately tried to pull the spellmaster away.

"NO!" Benny screamed through tears. "You're lying! You're always fucking lying! If you had anything to do with what happened to her, then I will kill you right here, RIGHT NOW!"

Mark rolled his head back. Benny finally calmed down, yanking Sky off his arm, and looking at Mark with anger in his eyes. Erica frowned.

"Lily Adams...who is that? She sounds familiar…," Erica asked quietly. Benny looked down, not looking at anyone in the eye.

"Adams," Benny whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy. "That was my mom's maiden name before she got married to my dad."

"Wait...are you telling me that Hunter was Benny's dad? That means…" Rory looked at Mark, then Benny. He pieced it together as soon as the words came out of his mouth.

"Y-You're brothers?" Rory said in shock. Benny looked disgusted; ashamed even.

Mark's eyes twinkled. "Of course we aren't. Don't be stupid, ditz. We are half-brothers."

Now Erica was mad, pulling Rory back and flashing her fangs towards Mark. He did the same almost seamlessly, and Erica reeled back.

"So Hunter was my dad…?" Benny asked hesitantly. "Are you telling me that it wasn't...David Weir?"

Sky looked at Benny with big eyes, and tears of frustration and anger beading in his eyes.

"B-Benny…," she said quietly, reaching to touch his shoulder. He flinched, and pulled back swiftly, as if in slow motion.

"Don't touch me," Benny said darkly. "I don't need your fucking sympathy right now."

Sky pulled back as if her hand was just burned. She understood what the spellmaster was going through, but the words still hurt. Benny didn't look too keen on apologizing as well, so Sky didn't let it get to her too much.

"My mom didn't marry a monster." Benny gritted out through his teeth, "She wouldn't marry your dad. She would know. I don't believe you."

Mark laughed as if he was happy of everything that has been stirred. He waved his hand again and painted a picture with the air.

"Well of course she didn't know until you were born. Unfortunately, like everything in the world, answers show themselves eventually."

The picture that was shown to the gang made Benny sob.

"You aren't touching my son!" Lily screamed, throwing Benny's child certificate and their wedding certificate off the table and to the grown, burning it with her magic. "You are an evil man! You're a psychopath! You are never going near Benny ever again!"

Hunter's hands glew black. Mark stood behind him, standing by his dad; he knew what his dad did, but he was determined to stand by him — even if it meant going against his only brother.

"Now relax, Lily," Hunter said, eerily calm. "We don't need to make this hard. I can make you forget this painful information. I always have."

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

Benny looked at the painted version of his mom; admittedly, her words stung, and he felt as if she was talking to him.

The problem was that he couldn't recognize her. Her emerald eyes held a hatred he couldn't recognize at all.

Those weren't the eyes that tucked him in at night.

Those weren't the eyes that always held a reassurance when he had nightmares at the brink of midnight.

Those weren't they eyes that told him, "Everything is going to be okay."

But those were his eyes.

Benny, despite all the bubbling emotions, did nothing but watch.

Lily screamed as she, with Benny still in her arms, shot a blast of magic at Hunter's heart, a streak of black hitting his chest.

"Daddy!" Mark screamed, and Lily locked eye contact with the blue-eyed boy, horrified at what she had done.

Hunter was nothing but ashes.

"O-Oh my god…," she whispered, looking at her right hand, which was trembling with sparks of black.

She saw as a stream of magic floated from the ashes and into Mark's chest. His eyes glowed a different kind of blue; no longer the soft blue that once was, but a blue that was piercing and sharp.

Lily could only recognize this as Oblivion powers; something she has never seen in all her life.

Mark regained his balance and glared at Lily, blue light glowing darkly in his clenched fist.

"You're going to PAY FOR THAT!" Mark screamed, his seven year old physique not allowing him to do much other than lunge towards his step-mom. Lily, horrified, clutched Benny in her arms and closed her eyes. She uttered a Latin spell and they disappeared in a blue light.

Benny was lost for words. He couldn't believe it. Mark nodded at Benny's reaction.

"Lily left me — a seven year old at the time, mind you — alone, and brought you with her. She married David Weir, took his last name, and raised you out of fear of me returning and killing you. David was also a spellmaster, so it was easier for him to understand what was happening. His mother, dead Evelyn over here, helped them raise Benny in safety. Evelyn erased Benny's memories of what happened, just in case, and Lily and David were about to leave him in the care of Evelyn for safety, but David wanted to wait eight years. Of course, as we all know, eight years later—"

"Benny's parents died in a car crash," Rory finished, avoiding eye contact with his emerald-eyed friend. "What really happened?"

"Talia managed an attack, thanks to my...persuasion."

Benny was running as fast as his childish legs could across the endless fields.

"BENNY!" he heard his mother scream. Benny wanted to turn around for the sake of it.

He didn't.

He kept running.

"BENNY, I'M SORRY!" His father yelled, and this time, Benny turned around, but only to see that his father, his mother, and his grandma were standing right behind a girl, whose eyes were demonic black - but had a glint of electrifying blue - and hair was jet black, with a fiery orange streak in it.

"W-Who..." Benny whispered, his kid-like eyes filled with wonder and fear.

The girl with the orange streak smiled. "I used to have orange hair, kid."

Benny looked over her shoulder — why weren't his parents coming?

"A force field," she whispered. "They'll never get out."

Benny gulped. The girl grinned.

"Orange hair," she hissed. "I had orange hair. My ex had brown. The son I conceived had my eyes, and his hair." She sighed. "He was beautiful."

Benny stumbled back, and the girl with an orange streak frowned darkly. "But it faded. He was crazy. I died. Then came back. Then was trapped. And my own son..."

She stopped. "No more than that."

Benny shook his head. "What do you want from me? Miss. Robbie said that if you never did bad to someone else, they have no right to do bad to you—"

The girl grabbed his neck, and Benny could hear his mother scream in terror. "Not what I did. What they did."

Benny looked at his fearful family, and she laughed. "Has mommy ever told you about witches, Benjamin? She must've told you they were evil."

She grinned. "But no one is evil without a purpose."

Benny screamed as the girl dragged her nail across his forehead, digging through his flesh and making a scar. Benny screamed as he felt blood, and she pushed black magic into his chest. Benny felt pain, then blacked out.

The girl cackled, dropping the limp boy's body, and disappearing.

The mother, the father, and the grandmother broke out of their bindings, and dashed straight to the young boy's unconscious body.

A dark scar was forming.

"No more waiting." The mother finally said.

The father nodded sadly as the grandmother began the brain wiping. "No more waiting."

"I don't know what happened to Lily and David. I heard they died in a car crash, but I will never know the real events. Only Evelyn did, as she was there. I just knew that they left, and never returned, leaving Benny with a blank mind and in the care of Evelyn."

A small swing set was silently pushed by the wind, and it was merely sunset. The grandmother frowned as she looked at her 8 year old grandson, who was unconscious on the couch with a deep scar. She then looked to her son and his wife, and frowned sullenly.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked silently. The mother nodded.

"We waited long enough." She said roughly, turning around without looking back. The father sighed as he looked down.

"This was my fault. I should've not told her to wait. We waited eight years. And we almost lost him." The father said sadly, seeing a glimpse of a dark scar that was marked on his son's forehead, and was buried beneath his ruffled hair. The grandmother shook her head.

"You spent eight years with your son and took it to your advantage. You took those years, and didn't waste a single second of them. You should feel proud." The father sniffed back tears as he nodded, looking at his son, then kissing his mom on the cheek before turning around, a single tear down his cheek.

"Take care of him. His life depends on it. And remember; he mustn't remember this."

...

A small swing set was silently pushed by the wind.

It was far past midnight now.

They didn't come back.

Sky sneaked another glance at Benny, who was trembling.

His world was falling apart, and he didn't know if it would build back up.

"W-Why did Talia attack me?" Benny whispered. "I assumed that her revenge was with you and...Hunter."

He couldn't say 'my dad'. He just couldn't.

Mark grinned. "This is where my story comes in."

"Ew," An eight year old boy with piercing blue eyes stated. "You're my mom?"

The nine year old girl with an orange streak nodded. "Yes, I'm your mom."

"Why the hell do you look like...that?"

"I possessed a nine year old, you fool. I planned on using this disguise so you can fall for me and I could finally get my revenge on you and your father by finally killing you. Unfortunately, I pissed off some crazy troll and he took my Oblivion powers."

"You still have your Oblivion powers?" The boy asked. "I thought Dad took your powers, which then went to me when he died?"

"I still had half," the girl said proudly. "That's all I really needed."

The boy nodded, and the girl sighed. "I need to get them back, so you have to get me out."

"You are one crazy bitch."

"Young man, I may look 9, but I am still your mother, so wash your mouth with soap."

The eight year old boy crossed his arms. "How do I know you aren't tricking me?"

The girl groaned as Mark sighed. "Besides, your 'revenge' is half way done; Dad died."

"Really?" the girl said, frown growing into a smile. "Now who let that happen?"

"My half-brother's mother." The boy growled.

"Well, get me out, and I'll help you kill her." she compromised.

The boy's eyes glistened in mischief, and he went out at once. The girl smiled to herself; this was supposed to be a trap so she could finally kill her evil son and let herself rest in peace, but little did she know things were going to go a little downhill.

The boy returned with the orb containing her powers, and when the girl absorbed them, she smiled. The boy let her out, and just before she was to use her powers to kill him, the boy placed his hand on her forehead, and she screamed in agony.

"You know I have the gift of truth," The boy smiled wickedly. "I knew you were tricking me all along."

When the girl reclaimed herself, she looked at the boy in front of her, mind void to revengeful thoughts.

"Who are you?" she asked curiously.

The boy snickered. "The person who'll help you defeat the Weirs once and for all."

The girl smiled evilly, and her memories of grudges against her son and his father disappeared in a thin trail of smoke.

"So you brainwashed your own mom?" Rory asked in shock. "You are pure evil! To do that to someone just so you could use them, but to top it all off, she was the one who gave birth to you! How could you do that?!"

Rory's voice rose. Sky didn't think she has seen Rory so mad. Mark shrugged.

"It's just what I do," he replied briskly. "I knew she was tricking me all along, so I helped her get out, brainwashed her, and then we decided to go our separate ways until we needed each other. She would stop growing old when she was sixteen, so I told her to turn me when I was sixteen as well."

Mark smiled towards Sky. "And that, of course, leads us straight to Arizona."

Sky could feel her cheeks go red. "You met me when we were ten. You said that you had parents. You told my parents that you had a home to go with you. The girl at your funeral — Aunt Geraldine? Was she even your aunt?"

Mark laughed. "Of course she wasn't. I hypnotized her, killed her, and buried her in the ground. Lots of dirt; that girl was fat. She supplied a wonderful dinner though..."

"It all adds up now," Ethan said. "You stayed in Arizona until Sky had to move. You must've followed her here, and then found out she met Benny, so you were keeping a close eye on him as well. And Talia...we killed her the night she brought all our fears to life. She came back to life as Atil X. Bataer, and then we killed her for good in the fairytale realm."

Erica frowned. "You didn't bring her back to life this time. Why?"

Mark shrugged nonchalantly. "She was no use to me anymore."

Benny looked down at his hands. Those were the hands that killed an innocent woman. Those were the hands of that killed someone who didn't need to die.

They were trembling, and Benny nearly broke down again.

"So that's it," Sky said quietly. "It all leads back up to here."

Mark's pearly grin made Sky sick to the bone. Standing in front of her was the so-called "friend" that stuck by her through thick and thin. Standing in front of her was the man outside his shell, exposing who he truly was. Standing in front of her was the boy she had loved. Standing in front of her was the reason she cried every night, and the reason why she couldn't move on.

Standing in front of her was no longer her friend, but her enemy.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, and without warning, blasted a spell at Mark's forehead, hoping to kill him.

He stumbled back, nearly tripping over Evelyn's dead body that was against the wall. He winced, lifting his hand to feel an open wound on his forehead.

Instead of retaliating against her, he faced his attention towards Benny.

"Why you should thank your girlfriend, brother," Mark teased; "for giving us matching scars.

Benny looked horrified, and before anyone could stop him, Mark disappeared in a thin cloud of black smoke.

…

Silence. It remained like that for what seemed like hours. All they could do was stare at where Mark once stood and the dead body of Evelyn lying on the ground.

Sky was the first to break down. She collapsed on her knees beside Evelyn's body, stroking the silver hair out of her lifeless eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," she wheezed. "I couldn't do it. I failed. Y-You are supposed to be alive, but y-you aren't—"

When Benny fell onto his knees beside her and wrapped her into a warm embrace, tears leaking down his face, she fell silent once again.

And now everyone stood around the two broken spellmasters, kneeling beside what they have lost.

"What do you we do now, Benny?" Sky whimpered. Benny dug his face into Sky's shoulder, tears drenching the fabric.

"I don't know," Benny whispered into her shoulder. "I don't fucking know."

Monday is the first day of spring break. To most of the students, it means that they would get two weeks off school. To some students, it meant hanging out with friends rather than studying for more important things. To other students, it meant social freedom.

To Team V, it felt more like two weeks of recovering from war, mourning the fallen, and tying any loose ends before going into battle.

Maybe that was why Sky couldn't step in her house.

She fell asleep at the Weir residence the night before, hoping it would all just be a horrible nightmare. When she woke up, the blood was cleaned up, and Evelyn was lying on the couch, cleaned up to the best of their abilities. She woke up alone to find the vampires making some sort of breakfast in silence, and when she asked where Benny was, they had told her he locked himself in his room.

They were going to have a funeral in a week. That's what everyone decided. Sky didn't bother arguing, since they seemed like they wanted to get it over with before any of them broke down again. Other than that agreement, their conversations went nowhere.

Now Sky is standing in front of her house, her hand on the doorknob.

The door was open; it always was at this hour. It was her house, so she didn't see why she couldn't just go in. Her parents were probably worried about her, and she didn't want to make them more upset.

She was going to tell them.

She decided that a long time ago. She was going to be the one who would tell them before they found out the same way that she did; by surprise. She wanted to know if she had their support or not, so she could start planning ahead.

Though she tried not to think of the worst.

They had to be supportive. They were her parents. But she knew parents who just threw their children on the streets for stupid mistakes.

Sky took it back immediately; the baby in her stomach was not a mistake.

This might have been the thought she needed, as a pang of confidence surged through her body and she twisted the knob.

The minute she walked into her house, she was faced with the shocked faces of her mom and her dad. Their faces were sticky with tears, and her dad dropped the phone and ran up to her. Sky's mom sobbed, running up to her and hugged her tightly.

"S-Skylar," her mom sobbed. Sky felt all her walls break down again and she collapsed into tears in her mom's shoulder. She felt her dad wrap his arms around the two of them.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't call you," Sky whispered. Her dad shook her head.

"Well it's a bit too late for that now. But let's forget about that; you didn't come home last night, and we were so worried. We tried calling you, Benny, Ethan, even Evelyn—"

The word triggered memories and she sobbed loudly. Her parents reeled back slowly, exchanging nervous looks.

"What is it, honey? Why are you crying?" her mom asked.

Sky found the words and spoke them as quietly as she could.

"Evelyn's dead."

The two words cause silence in the house. Sky's mom was the first to react, tears running down her face, and she buried her head in Sky's dad's chest. He looked at Sky.

"H-How?" he whispered. Sky bit her lip.

"Mark. He killed her. He's alive...it's all my fault!" she wailed. Her dad led them all to the living room so they could sit down.

After getting everyone some drinks, Sky began to tell the story. She told them everything Mark had told them through sobs and tears.

"That bastard," Sky's dad growled when it was all over. "If I ever see that motherfucker again—"

It wasn't like Sky's dad to swear. Sky's mom placed a hand on his shoulder in hopes of telling him to calm down. Sky nodded.

"I know," she whispered. "I want to kill him. He hurt Benny...he hurt me."

It hurt to admit that Mark had some sort of impact on her. She didn't want him to be such a significant part of her life, but he was. It made her sick.

She gagged. Her face turned white, and she covered her mouth. Her parents exchanged worried looks and her dad sprinted to get a bucket from the bathroom and gave it to Sky.

She threw up, tears rolling down her cheeks, the repressed bile in her stomach finally getting out. She reeled back, looking disgusted.

"Sky? Are you okay? Oh my god, honey, you're heating up—"

"I-I'm pregnant."

Now those two words were a game-changer. Sky's dad's breath hitched, and Sky's mom covered her mouth in shock.

"Y-You're pregnant?" she said in shock. Sky buried her face in the palm of her hands.

"I-I'm so sorry. B-Benny and I, w-we...and the condom broke...and I'm sorry!"

Her parents remain quiet. Sky wiped her tears with the palm of her hands.

"If you want to disown me, you might as well tell me now," Sky said quietly, looking down as if she knew what was to happen. Her parents looked aghast.

"We would never!" her dad exclaimed. Sky looked up.

"You're not mad?"

Sky's mom bit her lip. "We're not mad. A bit disappointed, yes, but that will never change the fact that we love you so damn much, Sky."

Sky's dad nodded. "We will always be there for you, Sky."

Sky broke out into a smile through her wet tears.

"Thank you, mom and dad!" She sniffled, pulling them into a hug. "I love you so, so much."

And now all three of them were crying a mix of happiness and sadness in the middle of the living room, all wrapped in each other's embrace.

Sky feared for tomorrow, but she tried to ignore it; tomorrow is a day away.

They all left him alone.

Benny didn't know how long it has been since he was cooped up in his room. He had locked the door, and hasn't let anyone in for a good week. He could hear his friends' muffled words behind his door, banging at it and pleading for him to let them in.

That was days ago.

Now it was Friday and the noises have stopped. They must've gave up. Benny felt a bit more guilty, but they out of all people should know what he was going through.

He had no one. He mustered up the courage to call somebody about Evelyn this afternoon. He wasn't sure who to call; the funeral services? The paramedics?

He ended up calling both of them, explaining she was murdered. They asked him if he wanted an investigation, but Benny reclined. They took her away, and he told them the funeral would be next week. They were all confused to why it was so early, but he explained he didn't want to wait anymore.

That was hours ago.

Now the house was truly empty. When everyone — the paramedics, the funeral services, his friends, his grandma — left, Benny cleaned up around the place, putting up bookshelves and sweeping the broken pieces of glass that held magical potions she made weeks ago.

He felt like a zombie walking around a graveyard. His moves were sluggish and programmed, as if it wasn't even him controlling his movements.

After cleaning up, he looked at the time; 3:48 PM. The landlord was coming to discuss Benny's living situation. Benny had called him a few hours ago to meet him, despite how miserable he felt. He figured he might as well take care of business now than later. He wanted to get it over with.

Benny took a brisk shower, wincing as he washed over the bruises and cuts from his attacker — which he figured was now Mark as well — and wore his best white shirt and jeans. He walked out of his room and into the hallway, before stopping in front of his grandma's bedroom door.

It was closed, and was obviously empty. The last thought made Benny remember everything was real. Everything that happened was real, and wasn't a nightmare. It was all a reality.

The thought made him shudder. He hated thinking about those kind of things.

Shaking the thought out of his head, he walked past the room and went downstairs, preparing some sort of fruit tray for the landlord — even if he was a complete and utter mess, he didn't want to show it.

Eventually, the doorbell rang, and Benny smoothed out his shirt and took a deep breath.

'You can do this,' Benny thought to himself, silently reassuring himself before he opened the door to see the bright smile of his landlord.

"Benjamin!" he exclaimed, waltzing right in. "Good day, lad!"

"Lad." The words were all too familiar. Benny tried not to think about it that way.

"Hi, Mr. Gazzoli," Benny said flatly, stepping aside to let the man walk into his living room. He sat on the couch, and immediately went for the fruits on the plate, to which he smiled.

"You sure know how to brighten things up with visitors, do you, Benjamin?" he asked as Benny walked to stand by the couch. "Your grandma taught you well."

Benny paled significantly. "Yeah, she did."

"Say, where is your grandma now, young lad?" His questions were pushing against Benny's walls, and eventually he snapped.

"Dead." His voice is cold. "She passed away on Sunday."

The landlord nearly drops the strawberry on the carpet.

"D-Dead?" Benny's face remained emotionless. The landlord stood up and ushered Benny into somewhat of an awkward hug.

"Dear boy, my apologies and condolences."

Benny shrugged. "S'fine."

The house was silence once more, and the landlord sighed.

"So what do you plan on doing with the house?"

Benny's nerves spiked up again, his annoyance towards the man growing with every oblivious word he said. He just wanted to get everything over with, but this man was clearly making it harder.

"I intend to keep it," he said.

Mr. Gazzoli remained clueless. "Keep it? I know your house runs through family inheritance, but there is still quite some amount of money to be paid off—"

"It's fine," Benny said, cutting him off. "I will pay whatever is left."

"But you're only eighteen—"

"Then that means I am technically an adult. I will take whatever job and pay off the house myself."

"A-Are you sure you want to keep the house?" Mr. Gazzoli asked, tugging the hem of his blazer. "Even if it is technically yours through family inheritance, you could make quite a good amount of money selling this house. This isn't in the best condition, you know…"

He trailed off, and Benny sucked the bottom part of his lip anxiously, thinking of an answer to fill the silence.

"It just feels...right," Benny finally said.

Silence filled the house for the umpeteenth time that week. Benny sat down at the couch and looked at the still-standing Mr. Gazzoli.

"Well?" he asked, desperately trying not to show any signs of annoyance. "Shall we start the paperwork?"

Eventually, the first week of spring break comes and goes, and on Saturday the whole gang decided to meet up at Lotta Latte. The plan was to discuss their next moves to stop Mark from doing any more evil deeds, and — much to Benny's dismay — Evelyn's funeral arrangements.

Rory and Erica were the first ones to get there, so they split some breakfast and coffee, and saved a booth for their friends.

"How was the end of school before spring break?" Erica asked, trying to get some small talk going on. Rory shrugged.

"It was fine. A bit stressful, but that's all normal. Lots of cramming before exams and some final assignments."

Erica smirked. "Oh, to be a senior again."

Rory smiled. "How about you? Are you on spring break for two weeks, or is it shorter? I kind of want to spend some time with you and maybe get some ice-cream—"

His remarks are cut off with a giggle.

"I am, Rory, don't worry. We'll do whatever you want." She paused, and sadly added, "You know, after the funeral tomorrow and what not."

Rory sighed. "Thanks for reminding me."

Erica watched his face fall, and she sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rory. I really want this all to be normal too. But I don't think that will happen soon."

Silence filled the space in between the two. Wanting to break the ice, Rory leaned forward and smiled.

"What do you want for the future?"

"Hm?" Erica mumbled distractedly, sipping her coffee.

"Like, what do you want to be," Rory repeated, "in two years or something."

Erica blushed. "Well, I'm not too sure. I haven't had much time to think about it."

Rory rolled his eyes. "Now that's a lie. Come on, help me out here; there has to be something you aspire to be in a few years."

Erica bit her lip before answering, "Well I'm taking journalism and english courses; perhaps that will get me somewhere. I kind of want to be a human while I still can; vampirism is cool and all, but I don't think I'd like to live forever. Still debatable though."

Rory smirked, leaning across the table and placing his chin in his hand.

"Am I part of that future?"

Erica smiled smugly, leaning back against her seat.

"We'll see." She winked.

And in that very moment, Rory saw the fire he fell in love with. The fire that burned his heart and left ashes in his mind. The fire that travelled from her to him, spreading through his body like a wildfire.

The fire that was now love.

In that moment, Rory sealed his own future with one thought: 'I can't wait to make you part of my future.'

Their friends came about a half hour later. Erica moved to sit beside Rory to make some room. Sarah at beside Erica at the end of their booth seat, and Ethan started anew on the one across from them. Sky sat beside him.

They all greeted each other quietly and less animatedly than they usually do, as if they at the funeral that very moment.

The last one to come was Benny, who came a little after Sky did. Everyone greeted him with a warm smile, to which he just promptly ignored. Sky made some room at the end of the booth, and he squeezed in.

"Hey," she whispered, hoping to get something; anything.

Benny looked at her wide blue eyes, and forced a smile.

"Hey," he said quietly, breaking eye contact. Even if Sky knew how scripted the greeting was, she decided to take it; she would take anything at this point.

"So why are we here?" Rory said, bubbly as always. "We're going to plan our next moves against Mark, right? I thought of some great ideas, including a space unicorn and—"

"Rory, what did I tell you about ideas involving space unicorns?" Ethan said with a roll of his eyes. "They are literally unrealistic ideas."

Rory frowned. "I thought that was about Santa—"

Ethan groaned. "Okay, Rory, how about this; no rules involving...any mythical creatures."

"Santa isn't a mythical—"

Erica nudged him softly, and Rory promptly shut up. Sky giggled softly, chewing her breakfast sandwich quietly. Sarah sighed.

"We are, however, going to talk about Mark." Everyone looked slightly sullen at the name, especially Sky. "We need to strategize some sort of plan."

"I don't know what's there to strategize," Sky said sadly. "I don't know where he is. I don't even know if he has — had, sorry — a house. I don't know anything we can use against him, since he is so––"

Sky stopped.

Powerful. That word may do it. Diabolical. Smart. Clever.

"Evil." She finished off in the end. "He's just so fucking evil."

Everyone remained silent. Ethan cleared his throat and looked over Sky's shoulder and noticed how Benny remained silent. He frowned.

"I've been meaning to ask you, B," Benny looked up at him, and Ethan sighed. "What are you going to do about your living situation?"

His breath hitched, but he tried to play it cool.

"What about my living situation?" he asked dumbly.

Ethan sighed. "No one's paying for your house. I know you said it was a part of your family inheritance, but there is still some things you need to pay off."

Benny shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You can stay with me, Benny," Ethan offered. "You know my family thinks your family too, and if you reall—"

"I told you, I'm fine," Benny said sternly. Sky looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Benny, if you're not going to stay with Ethan, you can stay with me! I mean, my parents won't mind. You are—"

"I bought the damn house, okay?" Benny snapped, catching the attention of not only fellow people around them, but of his friends. "I bought the fucking house."

Silence.

"Y-You bought the house?" Erica stuttered; not waiting for a response, she added, "You aren't ready to buy your own house."

Benny shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"I'm eighteen, an almost-graduate, I'm old enough to get a job, and I have a lot of free time," Benny said nonchalantly. "I don't see how I'm not ready."

Ethan and Sky exchanged looks, and Ethan shook his head.

"No, Benny, you can't just buy a house. There is so much to pay off; you'll have to get a few jobs. And then with school—"

"I'll drop out of school if I have to." Sky's eyes widened.

"D-Drop out?" she asked. "B-Benny, you can't drop out of school just to keep your stupid house in your family—"

"Stupid?"

Sky winced; maybe not the best choice in words.

"I-I didn't mean 'stupid' as in—"

Benny's glare cut her off. "This is my family house you're talking about. This is the house that my grandma lived in for God knows how many years. I am going to keep the damn house, and you guys can't change my mind."

More silence crept in, and everyone watched as Benny drank his coffee. Sky looked surprised, but was determined to figure out some sort of compromise.

"Fine, Benny, if that's what you want, then have it your way." As soon as the words came out of Sky's mouth, Sarah's eyes widened.

"Sky?!" she exclaimed. Sky shrugged.

"It's your life, and you have every right to do what you want to." Benny looked at her suspiciously.

"There's more to this, isn't there." His voice was flat, and the statement was more of an accusation than a question.

Sky nodded. "Well of course since I'm part of your life, I will obviously help you do whatever you need to."

"Sky…," he groaned, leaning back in his chair. Sky nodded restlessly.

"I'm not going to leave you alone; especially at this kind of time. You are the father of our child, Benny. I'll help you financially and mentally. We can even split the pay and move in together––"

Benny turned to face Sky, who was still to the right of him.

"Sky, you're seventeen; you're not going to give up your life for a pathetic mess of a person—"

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Sky screamed.

Ethan, Sarah, Erica and Rory remained quiet throughout the spellmasters' fight. Benny's eyes were brimming with tears, and Sky was trying her best to keep it together.

"You aren't pathetic, Benny." Sky's voice was barely a scratchy whisper. "You're not anything that you probably think you are. You aren't a fucking monster. You're...going through a rough time right now. All you need is a little help."

Rory's quiet voice spoke up. "Maybe you need to go see a therapist, Benny."

Everyone fell quiet at the words. Benny, clearly furious, stood up and grabbed his coffee by the hand. He faced the end of the booth and got up, grabbing his bag and making his way out. Everyone but Sky remained seated; she shot up and grabbed him by the wrist.

"Benny, please don't go." Sky's voice sounded like a whiny child. "We can work things out, I promise; you just need a little time. Rory's right; you need to talk to someone right now. You know how I got better with that kind of treatment, and maybe that's what you need—"

"What I don't need is your fucking pity," Benny growled out, and shrugged her off, storming out of the cafe and out onto the streets, tears beading in his eyes.

Sky was left standing in the middle of Lotta Latte, and as she was surrounded by all her friends in a tight hug, only one thought stuck out amongst the rest: 'What now?'

a/n- well that was something, wasn't it? yeah? yeah.

anyway, i hope you are exciting! look forward to a new chapter next week...? or two...? who knows :P

drop a review and what not, and thanks for reading! peace out mon ami's :P

keep on keeping onnnnnnnnn